Acceptance
by myFrankpov
Summary: What if Addison left Derek when Mark asked her to go home? What if Derek was still in love with his wife but is in love with his mistress too?
1. Chapter 1

**_"I didn't forgive her and with you I don't have an obligation to try."_**

 _ **"You're marriage is over Addison all you have to do is admit it. Then you can come back home with me, I'll be waiting in the bar across the street. Meet me there."**_

It was 11 pm in the trailer and these words keep playing in Addison's head.

 _'Obligation.'_

 _'Come back home.'_

With this Addison stood, went into the closet got clothes, went into the bathroom and changed.

'Can _I really do this?'_ She thinks looking at her rings. ' _Obligation. I've given up my whole life for him. Given up the practice, home, family and friends because of a damn OBLIGATION to TRY.'_

A memory suddenly comes to her like a train.

 ** _"Christmas makes you want to be with the people to love. I'm not saying this to hurt you, It doesn't mean I want to leave you cause I don't. Meredith wasn't a fling she wasn't revenge, I fell in love with her that doesn't change cause I chose to stay with you."_**

 _'Obligation. He fell in love.'_

Looking up at the ceiling and looking around the bathroom. Seeing items that Derek uses currently and mentally comparing them to those he used to have. And how her products don't seem to blend in with them.

 _'Maybe, my marriage is over.'_

She thinks taking off her rings. Looking at it in the light and clutching it on her hands.

Addison wears her robe again, puts her hair in a bun and gets out of the bathroom.

She looks at her husband and sees someone who she's known and a total stranger at the same time.

 _'Maybe 2 months really can beat 10 years of happiness. 10 years because the in the last 5 years we were practically 2 people co-existing under one roof.'_

Addison then goes to the closet, where the envelope containing the divorce papers is. She takes them out and walks to the table where a pen is waiting. Sits and takes a deep breath and looks back at Derek who fell asleep on the bed reading a patient file.

 _'Our marriage was over long before, Derek. A definite sign is when my husband punches a man hitting on his mistress while he leaves when he sees said man having sex with his wife.'_

Addison then turns back signs the papers.

 _Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd_

It hurts that it would be the one of the last times she's going to sign that name. She sits there looking at her name on those papers.

 _'He's always wanted to be the good guy. I should've known he wouldn't sign because of that, not because I'm still the love of his life.'_

She puts them back in the envelope and drops her rings with them. She puts them on the table.

Packs her shoes and some of her clothes on a rolling bag and a small carry-on.

 _'You've always been a deep sleeper only a pager could wake you aside from shaking_.' She thinks before getting a Christmas card she was supposed to give him last Christmas. She ripped it in the middle and wrote

 _Be Happy, Derek._

 _Someday I hope you understand and forgive. When that Day comes I would love to be a part of your life again._

\- Addison Forbes Montgomery

Addison gets her keys, puts her luggage by the door of the trailer and puts the note on top of the envelope containing the divorce papers and her rings.

She looks at her sleeping husband again and walks to him tears dropping from her eyes.

"Goodbye, Derek." She whispers before giving him a peck on the lips.

Derek turns to her still sleeping.

"You're Free." She whispers to herself standing up.

Addison stands and looks around the trailer.

 _'I don't fit in your life anymore. You built this life without a space for me in it. I hope one day, not tomorrow, weeks, months, years but someday, I hope you'll forgive us and let me and Mark be a part of your life again.'_

With that thought Addison Forbes Montgomery hangs her bathrobe in the coat rack, grabs her coat, quietly left the trailer, locked the door, put her bags on her car and left.

* * *

"She won't choose you, you know." Meredith says just as 12:00 am strikes.

"This bar closes at 3am if I have to wait outside till sunrise comes. I'll do it."

"Why? I mean, why would you… I… practically every one here is looking at you to take them home" She says stating a fact after stuttering to word her thoughts.

"Because I'm taking her home. Until this bar closes… no... until that sun rises, I still have a chance. I'll be a fool not to take it."

"She's not coming" Maredith says with finality

Mark only nods returning to hi liquor.

Seeing the dismissal, she looks around the bar looking for familiar faces. When she doesn't see one aside Meredith decides to head home.

* * *

A voice cuts of Mark's solitary drinking.

"I have a contract." Addison says right behind him.

Mark turns and looks at the redhead astonishment and pure joy on his face.

"What?" he asks confused.

"I have a two year contract and I can't buy it out because it would be bad for my record. Cutting off my stay at Mt. Sinai after years of loyalty for a few months in Seattle Grace-"

"I'll move with you."

"What?!" She looks at him in shock.

"I'll move my practice here." Mark says looking at Addison.

"Why?" She couldn't help but question.

"I told you, Red. I'm in love with you." Mark said genuinely while looking at her intently.

Addison looks at him and puts her obviously bare hand in his.

"I'm not ready for that yet, Mark. But I will go to New York with you for a month; I need to get things in order. Richard already cleared me. Mark, what happened in New York… we were rushing everything and now I just signed my divorce papers … I need a little more time. Can you give me that?" she asks suddenly nervous of his answer.

"Yes. God, Addison, I've waited for you for 18 years what's a few more." Mark says smiling

Addison only gives a small smile back, kisses him on the cheek and asks, "What are we waiting for?"

"Let's go home, Addie." Mark says leaving the bar with his hand on her back.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry for updating late I'll try to update earlier. Thank you for the reviews they're all awesome. :D  
I finally know how to code! So no more awkward long paragraphs I finally added hr to cut the scenes; I'll be putting hr on the first chapter too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy. If I did Addek and Maddison will still be on the show. For me after season 3 it went downhill from there.

* * *

Seattle Grace Hospital

"Have you heard?" A nurse asks approaching two others in the nurse's station giving one of them charts.

"What?" another asks looking over charts

"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd took a leave."

"What?! You're kidding. I thought she was working it out with McDreamy." She says slamming the charts down

"Well, He isn't here yet either, maybe they both took a vacation." Says the blode one

"No, I just walked passed the board earlier. He has a surgery in Two hours. His other ones weren't transferred or cancelled."

"Well, Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd's was."

* * *

It was a hectic day for Dr. Miranda Bailey as she has just received news of several surgeries being moved around because of the absence of one of the Attendings. Pissed off as she was not even one of her interns were making a noise because of the look she had since she approached them.

As she is handing charts to her interns and assigning them to their doctors,

"O'Malley, you're with Torres. Yang, Burke. Stevens, wit-"

Derek Shepherd, head of neurosurgery, angrily walks in front of her and threateningly asks, "Have you seen my wife?"

"Dr. Shep-" Miranda strats to say in a condescending tone.

Derek cuts her off, his voice between angry and pleading.

"You are a resident I am your attending. Answer my question, Have you or Have you not seen my wife Dr. Bailey?" Derek cuts her off, his voice between angry and pleading.

Bailey takes a deep breath and says, "She took a leave of absence the extent of which I don't know. I was informed of by the chief."

"Thank you." He mutters before running to the Chief's office.

Leaving the interns shocked and Bailey shaking her head.

* * *

Chief's Office

"She said your marriage was over, Shep. Addison took a leave for personal reasons." Chief Webber says neutrally.

"My marriage isn't over until those papers are signed and brought to a judge. I need a leave of absence too, Richard." Derek says

"You can't."

"Why not?!" Derek exclaims shocked by the fact that his mentor would not allow him to follow his wife.

Richard only took a deep breath before reasoning out to his former student. "Derek, Addison doesn't need-"

"I took her back. I chose her. We were working it out. W-" Derek says anxiously standing up and starts to pace.

"Were you really?" Richard asks looking Derek in the eye.

"Of course-" Derek answers looking away from Richard.

"Don't lie to me, Shep. I'm Chief of Surgery. I'm busy all the time but even I saw how your eyes still linger. How you reacted with that bomb, is a prime example of that. The way you looked at another woman while your wife was there."

"Richa-" he interrupts sitting back down on his seat

"You weren't working on your marriage, Shep, even I could see how you were still in lo-."

"Just because my wife arrives, it doesn't mean that my love for Meredith fades just like that. I decided to stay and wo-"

"You made your decision to stay with your wife, true; but you did not work on your marriage." Richard says matter of factly.

He looks at his former student, who was slumped on his seat looking depressed.

"I'm willing to give you a few days off but you have to be on hand for emergencies I can't lose anymore attendings. This conversation is done, Shep."

Derek walks out of his office.

* * *

Derek is sitting on the floor of the bridge legs stretched out looking at rings against the Seattle view.

This is how Miranda Bailey sees him so she then decides to lean on the bannister beside the handsome neurosurgeon.

"This was bound to happen."

"How can you say that?" he asks still looking at how the diamonds sparkle against the sun

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" she responds

"It wasn't bound to happen. We were meant to be forever. We promised to be together for eternity, possibly even longer."

"Promises are nothing without actions for them to live by."

"What do you mean Dr. Bailey?" Derek asks looking up at her still holding on to the rings.

"You didn't make a decision before when you had time to make it. You chose your wife to buy you time because you couldn't let any of those women go."

"Who do I choose then Dr. Bailey? Because I love my wife but I also love Meredith." Derek reasons to her

"You know the red-head, who gave you back those rings," she said pointing to the rings he kept clutching. "She just made that decision for you." Miranda Bailey then walks in front of him looks at him straight and asks

"Dr. Shepherd, Do you want to move your surgeries?"

"No." He says clutching the rings and putting them in his chest pocket before standing up. "Schedule as many surgeries as you can. And Dr. Bailey I don't want Meredith on my service or my OR until further notice. You can assign her to other neurosurgeons for her OR Rotation."

"Are you sure Dr. Shepherd?"

"My wife needs time. I need to get busy."

* * *

"SO were here." Mark says as he and Addison step out of JFK International Airport.

"We're home." Addison says mentally burying the memories of Derek that came up.

"DO you want to go to the Brownstone?" he says anxiously

There was a long pause before Addison asks "Mark?"

"What is it, Addie?" Mark asks worriedly

"I… umm… I know that-" Addison says trying to form the words

"We can get Harvey on your case, you know." He says abruptly

"What?!" she asks shocked.

"Your contract with Seattle Grace."

"No, Richard offered me the a lot and he's an old friend. I'm not going behind his back to break it, even if I want to."

"Then what is it?"

"The divorce. The houses…"

"You want the Brownstone and the Hamptons, right?"

"It's just I don't know what to keep. It's unnecessary, having two dead property but I don't know what to keep."

"Addie, you know you don't need to think of the settlement right?"

"I know, but Mark I don't think I can stay at the Brownstone today."

"Alright, my flat it-"

"I don't think I want to say in your place too." Addison says.

Mark only looks at her shocked and dejected

"We want to take things slow, remember?" Addison says imploringly.

"Oh, yeah." Mark says rubbing his head and relieved that 'going slow' was the reason

"So do you want to stay the Ritz-Carlton or the Warldorf?"

"Ritz-Carlton, its closer to your place right?"

"Yeah, and you said buying that apartment at Langham was a bust." He smiles wide and says jokingly.

"That's one of the only decisions I'm happy with you not following me on."

"How abou-"

"Don't push it, Sloan."

"Want to get breakfast?"

"The usual?"

"Of Course." Addison says smiling widely before inhaling the cold New York air and says

"God, I Miss New York!"


End file.
